1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to an antenna and portable electronic device having the same, and more particularly, to an antenna of a portable device with optimized performance under varying environmental conditions.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a mobile terminal, portable terminal and portable device are synonymous for a hand held electronic device capable of transmitting and/or receiving an information or communication signal. Examples include smartphones, tablet PCs, laptops, cell phones, e-readers, communication-capable cameras, and so forth. Modern mobile terminals have advanced to a small size, small thickness, and light weight in consideration of portability, and have achieved advances in a multimedia direction, that is, they can perform various functions in various multimedia and Internet environments. High speed data communication capability in addition to an audio dedicated communication function are common. Further, prototypes with higher data communication speeds are under development.
General mobile terminals essentially include a data input and output device, processor, speaker, microphone, and antenna. In recent designs, internal (built-in) antennas are widely used.
The mobile terminal is widely used for multimedia data communication as well as a telephony function. In early designs, a single antenna was used to handle both telephony and data communication functions. However, as multimedia related data communication has increased, recent models employ multiple antennas for voice and data communication functions.
Further, as a communication method develops from a presently widely using 3G communication method to a 4G long term evolution (LTE) communication method, a 4G communication antenna is separately added, increasing the number of antennas mounted in the mobile terminal. Space constraints within a small mobile terminal, however, make it difficult to package the antennas while maintaining requisite antenna performance.
In addition, it is desirable for a portable device manufacturer to provide the consumer with diverse color options for a given device model. However, a phenomenon occurs in which a material and a dielectric constant of the portable device housing changes as a function of the color. The change in dielectric constant of the housing in proximity to the antenna influences the antenna performance. That is, a resonant frequency of the antenna differs according to the housing color.
In order to compensate a resonant frequency of an antenna changed according to a color change, conventionally, a mold of an antenna radiator is separately produced on a color basis and thus a radiator pattern is separately produced according to the housing color. This approach, however, is not cost effective in that several different molds are required, and the number of parts for a given production model increases. Further, even if an antenna is produced on a color basis, errors inevitably occur in a resonant frequency.
Accordingly, there is a need for an efficient way to ensure that an antenna packaged within the confines of a portable device meets resonant frequency and other performance requirements under changing environmental conditions, such as a housing color change.